Simeone's what-we-have-we-hold move nearly backfired when Bale skewed wide, while Sergio Ramos made his regular pitch to be Madrid's last-ditch hero - forcing Oblak to push a wonderful free-kick behind in stoppage time and powering over from the resulting corner.

Ronaldo continued a phenomenal 2018 when he volleyed Madrid into a deserved 53rd-minute lead at the Santiago Bernabeu - his 40th goal in all competitions this season.

"We are not doing anything special for the game", Partey told Citi Sports.

TF1 insisted, nevertheless, that "talks are well advanced" between the Catalan giants and the 27-year-old Frenchman. Bale completed the 90 minutes, but his performance only really confirmed that the €101 million galactico is mostly a back-up option at the moment.

Atletico's response to falling behind was impressive, with Diego Simeone's side immediately taking the initiative.

Zinedine Zidane has never beaten Atletico Madrid at the Bernabeu in La Liga as manager, with Diego Simeone's side having won three and drawn one of their last four league visits.

Atletico go into the weekend nine points behind league leaders FC Barcelona and that could have grown to 12 by the time the game kicks off in Madrid, meaning that overtaking Barca in the title race looks unlikely.